Raising the Roof
by MistressOfImladris
Summary: Elladan and Elrohir decide to have a little night fun. For Erelil Morningstar.


**A/U:** This story is a birthday gift for my good friend, Erelil Morningstar. I hope you enjoy it, mellon nín, and happy birthday!

* * *

Elrohir tossed sleeplessly in bed. It was a little past one in the morning, and he had been awake for what seemed like hours. At last he gave up trying to fall back asleep, and slid out of bed. Padding across the hall, he entered his twin's room and crawled onto Elladan's bed.

Hovering one hand over his brother's mouth, he grinned evilly as he prepared to drive his finger into Elladan's side.

Elladan's eyes flew open at the rude awakening, but he found himself unable to make a sound, thanks to the hand that was firmly clamped over his mouth. 'Mandos take you, Elrohir Peredhel!' he hissed once the hand was removed. 'I'm going to kill you come daylight.'

Elrohir snickered. 'I cannot sleep.'

'Well, I could!'

Elrohir cocked his head, as if considering this announcement. 'I saw,' he said at last. 'When I came in, you were sleeping.'

Elladan made a disbelieving gesture. 'No, really?' he asked sarcastically. 'And here I thought I was wide awake the whole time!'

'Ah,' his brother answered, waving his hand dismissively. 'Anyways, I thought you might want to have some fun outside since apparently we both can't sleep?'

'I _can_ sleep, you fool,' Elladan ground out.

Elrohir just smiled, waiting.

'Yes, well, what kind of 'fun' were you thinking?' Elladan asked, trying to appear uninterested.

'Galathar mentioned to me in the Hall of Fire last evening that he and his brothers used to play on the roofs at night,' Elrohir confided hopefully.

'Galathar?!' Elladan's voice was positively scandalised. 'The Elf who wears black even at Yuletide and weeps whenever he hears a merry tune?'

'Sounds like the right one,' Elrohir confirmed.

Elladan looked thoughtful for all of five seconds. 'Let's do it!'

* * *

Not ten minutes later, the identical Elves could be seen climbing cautiously over the balcony railing outside Elladan's room. Together they scaled the ivy-covered walls till they reached the roof. Elladan clambered on first, then reached down a hand to Elrohir.

Elrohir snickered once they stood side-by-side on the slanting roof. 'I can hardly believe we've survived almost six hundred years without roof-running at night!'

Elladan nodded his agreement. 'Last one to the great chimney is a rotting Orc!'

The two sprinted off, their light footfalls barely audible. They reached the chimney at the same time, though each was convinced that he had reached it a split second before the other had.

'I always knew you were a sore loser,' Elrohir taunted.

'Takes one to know one,' retorted Elladan.

Elrohir just raised an eyebrow, his mind already forming other plans. 'I wonder... Would it not be fun to see how many times we could jump from one roof to another, without falling and breaking our necks?'

Elladan walked to the edge of the roof, nearly losing his balance as his food slipped on a loose shingle. 'On the other hand, we may only have to see how far we can walk along the edge before falling and breaking our necks,' he said as he held out his arms for balance. Once he had steadied himself, he looked over the roofs stretching over the many buildings. 'However, dying because we were jumping is better than dying because we were falling. Less embarrassing, you know.'

Elrohir nodded. 'Right. Let's try the kitchen roof first.'

Returning to the chimney, Elladan and Elrohir set off again across the roof, their dark hair flying behind them. Suddenly Elladan skidded to a stop.

'Wait!' he called out to Elrohir, softly enough that they wouldn't wake anyone in the house.

'What?' Elrohir asked, coming to stand by his twin.

'This is such a stupid idea!' Elladan cried ecstatically. 'Jumping from roof to roof in the dark!'

'Elladan!' Elrohir was exasperated. 'You stopped to say _that_? Jumping from roof to roof is a stupid idea whatever the lighting conditions. I thought that is why we do it.'

'Of course,' Elladan agreed. He turned. 'Shall we return to the chimney, then?'

Elrohir rolled his eyes. 'Yes, Elladan,' he said scathingly, enunciating his words as though he were speaking to an infant. 'We should return to the chimney to start again because you thought it a good idea to tell me that what we were doing was foolish.'

A moment later, they landed lightly on the kitchen roof. Elladan laughed as Elrohir narrowly escaped running into a second chimney.

'Onwards,' Elrohir ordered as he glared at his brother. 'To the library!'

They continued in such a way for a while. At last they came to the last roof in the chain: the stable.

'This one is the best,' Elrohir whispered excitedly. 'So far, we're still alive and kicking – should I say alive and jumping? – so try not to break the pattern.'

Elladan squinted at him. 'There isn't much of a pattern if it's all the same thing. If we jumped, fell, jumped, fell, etcetera, _that_ would be a pattern.'

'It would not be,' Elrohir answered stoutly. 'For once we fall, it is more than likely that we will be unable to do anymore jumping.'

Elladan glanced at the moon. 'It's nearly two o'clock,' he announced. 'Time for a change of subject.'

Elrohir just sighed. 'On three,' he then said. 'One...two...three!'

The two took off again, nearing the stable roof at a mad pace. Time slowed as they reached the edge of the roof and made the leap. They reached the roof safely, but did not stop there. With a magnificent splintering sound, they continued their journey, down through the roof and to the stable-floor below.

Unfortunately for them, they had not remembered that the stable roof had been in need of replacing for months. The shingles were soft and rotting, and easily gave away beneath the combined weight of two fully-grown Elves.

Moonlight poured through the two holes that now gaped in the stable roof as Elladan and Elrohir sat there in a large pile of hay, stunned. Shingles and splinters of wood rained down on them, but they hardly noticed.

'I'm... confused,' Elladan admitted finally.

'I thought we were on the roof,' Elrohir replied, looking around dazedly.

'...But now we're down here,' Elladan finished.

The stables were in pandemonium. The horses, jerked awake by the sudden noise, were rearing and whinnying, unable to see the causes of their interrupted sleep. Already, the identical culprits could hear doors slamming and feet running in the house, all the while getting closer and closer to the stable.

The twins ignored the animals for the moment. 'Well,' Elrohir said, remembering one of Glorfindel's favourite sayings, _Always count your blessings._ 'At least we landed on the hay, not on the ground.'

'Or,' Elladan added, wincing. 'The stall walls.'

Elrohir's eyes widened, and he shuddered from the thought. 'What do we do now?'

'Wait for everyone to come, I suppose.'

There was silence for a few minutes. Finally Elladan broke it.

'Ehm,' the elder twin reflected, inspecting his nails nervously. 'You do realise Ada is going to raise the roof about this.'

Elrohir snorted. 'Quite the contrary, brother,' he retorted, pulling a piece of straw from his hair. 'He is going to make _us_ re-raise the roof.'

Elladan groaned. 'I _hate_ raising roofs.'

The End


End file.
